Studie van drie dansende vrouwen 1903 - 1904

Henri Fantin-Latour made this drawing of three dancing women, with graphite on paper, date unknown. The smudgy, soft quality of the graphite lends itself well to a drawing that feels like it's about movement, about a kind of swirling, energetic process. Look at the way the figures emerge from the ground – they’re built up with layers of scribbled lines and shading. Fantin-Latour doesn’t seem interested in concealing the process of artmaking. You can almost feel him shifting the pencil around, trying to find the right form, the right gesture. And I love the way the hat sort of floats between the figures, connecting them in this playful, rhythmic dance. It's as if the hat has its own life force, directing the movements of the dancers. There's a similar study by Degas, where you can see how these kinds of quick sketches feed into their larger compositions. For me, this piece speaks to the beauty of improvisation, the joy of exploring form and movement through the simple act of drawing.